Homemade Laundry Stain Stick

I call the following soap recipe my Laundry Stain Stick and it is crazy amazing
at cleaning all sorts of stains but I also use it when making laundry detergent
and my liquid dish soap. The reduced percentage of excess fat and the inclusion
of eucalyptus and lemon essential oils give this soap serious grease/stain cutti
ng ability.
Ingredients
-2 pounds lard
-4.39 ounces lye
-10 ounces water
-1 ounce eucalyptus essential oils, optional
-1/2 ounce lemon essential oils, optional
Hot Processed Method
1. Measure the lye and water each in separate bowls. Note: Run your recipe throu
gh a lye calculator to be sure that you are using the proper amount of lard, lye
, and liquid.
2. Carefully combine the lye and water by pouring the lye into the water (never
pour the water into the lye) and stir liquid until lye is completely dissolved.
The liquid is caustic and not to be touched in anyway. The outside of the bowl w
ill be extremely hot as well. Note: Be careful when working with lye and follow
all of the recommended precautions. What Im trying to say is, I can not be held r
esponsible for any craziness, mishaps, explosions, etc. that may happen when mak
ing this recipe.
3. Allow the lye mixture to stay under a vent and cool down while you prepare th
e lard.
4. Measure the lard by weight and then place in a crock pot to melt on low heat.
5. Once melted, add the lye/liquid mixture to the lard in the crock pot and stir
. Note: Any equipment the lye touches needs to be neutralized in a mixture of wh
ite vinegar, soap, and water.
6. After a brief stir, grab your stick blender and get to work! Blend the lard a
nd liquid in the crock pot for at least 3-5 minutes. We are working toward trace.
7. Blend until the mixture becomes a thick, pudding like consistency.

8. Once the mixture is pudding-like, cover the crock pot and cook the soap for app
roximately 1 hour.
9. Prepare your molds. I just use a standard loaf pan lined with parchment paper
and its always worked perfectly.
10. Just before pouring cooked soap into molds stir in the essential oils (if usin
g).
11. Spoon soap mixture into molds.
12. Allow soap to cool and harden for 24 hours.
13. Remove from mold on to cutting board and cut into bars.
14. Place bars on a tray with good airflow so that they can harden further. But
go ahead and use your first bar!!!
To Use
To use the laundry stain stick simply wet the stained clothing and soap then rub
the soap directly on to the stain. Wash as you normally would.
Notes
-I do not recommend using this soap recipe on your skin. It will have too much o
f a drying effect.
-Eucalyptus and lemon essential oils are known for their grease cutting ability
and are excellent additions to the recipe.
-Many of the vintage recipes that I have read for stain sticks used turpentine i
nstead of the essential oils. Turpentine is a natural substance that comes from
the resin of pine trees and it is biodegradable. If its available to you, it may
be a viable option.